OMCT intervenes at the CHR on violence against women: Bangladesh and Afghanistan

INTERVENTION BY THE WORLD ORGANISATION AGAINST TORTURE (OMCT) COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS - 57th Session, April 2001 Item 12: Violence against Women Mr Chairperson, Torture of women is a fundamental violation of human rights which is absolutely and without any reservation prohibited under international law whether in time of peace or war. Notwithstanding some encouraging signs of progress in the development and implementation of new legislation and procedures to assure the human rights of women, the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) cannot but signal that torture of women persists on a daily basis around the world. Torture of women derives essentially from cultural patterns that perpetuate discrimination and the lower status accorded to women in all spheres of life. Gender has a considerable impact on the form that torture takes, the circumstances in which it occurs, its consequences, and the availability of and access to remedies. Besides being the victims of violence perpetrated by state agents and armed groups, most often women are the victims of physical and psychological violence within the domestic sphere and within the community. The most characteristic gender element of torture of women is its sexualisation. OMCT would like to emphasise that under international law States have a duty to exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate and punish acts of torture, whether those acts are perpetrated by the state or by private individuals. However, inasmuch as international definitions of torture have been narrowly interpreted, all too often state policies, laws and inaction perpetuate or condone torture of women. Mr Chairperson, Crimes against women committed in the name of honour are a gender specific form of violence which is either approved or supported by states in many parts of the world, including: Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Ecuador, Egypt, Guatemala, Iran, Jordan, Palestinian Autonomous Areas, Peru, Texas/USA, Turkey and Venezuela. Husbands, fathers or brothers have gone unpunished after murdering their wives, daughters or sisters in order to defend the “honour” of the family or their own “honour”. The killing or mutilation occurs when a woman allegedly steps outside her socially prescribed role, especially, but not only, with regard to her sexuality and to her interaction with men outside her family. OMCT would especially like to draw the attention of this Commission to the increase in the number of reports regarding acid attacks in Bangladesh. Every month, about 20 persons reportedly become victims of acid attacks. Most of them are women and girls. When acid is thrown on a person, the results are horrific. Sulfuric acid melts away skin and muscle, and sometimes even dissolves the bone. When acid attacks the eyes, women become blind. Reported reasons for acid attacks include refusal of an offer of marriage, dowry disputes, domestic violence and arguments over property. OMCT notes that Bangladesh is not lacking laws that attempt to protect Bangladeshi women. However, there is reportedly a lack of commitment by the judiciary and law enforcement officials to apply these laws and criminal processes are slow. Mr Chairperson, Due to the seriousness of the worldwide problem of “honour” crimes, OMCT would welcome a request by this Commission to the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights to carry out a worldwide study which would result in a working paper in 2002. Mr Chairperson, OMCT also wishes to draw the attention of the Commission to trafficking in women and girls which has become an extremely business for organized crime syndicates worldwide. Although this issue is considered widely at the international level, including at the Commission on Human Rights, states around the world continue to allow trafficking to grow with near impunity and without passing legislation protecting the rights of trafficked women. OMCT is very concerned about trafficking in women and the extreme forms of violence against women this involves. The treatment of trafficked women is characterised by some of the most horrendous violations of human rights. The majority of trafficked women are subject to long working hours of often heavy labour, deprived of time off, food and more often than not, wages. Access to health and medical services is frequently denied. As illegal immigrants, they often lack documents and are unregistered with the proper authorities and therefore live in constant fear of police arrest, fines, imprisonment and expulsion. The European Commission estimates that up to half-a million women are forced into sexual slavery in the EU each year. In this respect, OMCT welcomes the reports that the European Commission is in the process of incorporating procedures to allow for the protection of trafficked women and the prosecution of the traffickers and hopes that these measures will be soon adopted and implemented. Mr Chairperson, As in the previous years, OMCT expresses its concern over the torture directed against women and girls in Afghanistan, perpetrated by the Taliban. The torture of women and girls in Afghanistan, generally by beatings and flogging, but also by abduction of young women and rape, is the most striking contemporary example of violence against women perpetrated in order to prevent them from entering the public sphere. Perpetrated in the streets, the torture of women by the Taliban takes on a clearly public character and serves as a threat to other women. Women’s rights to participate in the social, economic, cultural and political life of the country have been totally abolished. In short, Afghan women are stripped of all basic human rights that are fundamental to human existence. OMCT stresses the importance of the special attention to the human rights of women in Afghanistan by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan. Mr Chairperson, In order to work towards equal protection of men and women from torture, it is imperative that this Commission insists that especially the Committee against Torture and the Special Rapporteur on Torture "gender" the victim, the form, the circumstances, the consequences of the torture as well as the availability of remedies and reparation. With regard to the interpretation of the definition of torture in international law, much will depend on the general comment on article 1 of the Convention against Torture which the Committee against Torture, according to its announcement at its 24th session, intends to adopt during its 26th session this Spring. Finally, OMCT would like to underline the outstanding work of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary execution and her systematic application of a gender perspective in her work and we would welcome the extension of her mandate to ensure the completion of her task. OMCT’s last report on violence against women is available outside this room. Thank you Mr Chairperson Geneva, April 2001 Carin Benninger-Budel